Dale Brown Classic Preview

Who doesn’t love the holidays? Someone probably. But who doesn’t love the opportunity to spend an entire day watching basketball? Probably nobody reading this. While most of the state taking a break from hoops for the holidays, there are a few showcase events headlined by some of the best teams in Class B. Friday and Saturday, a number of the elite teams in the state will descend upon Minot for the Hoopster Classic and the Dale Brown Classic.

Here’s the schedule for the Dale Brown Classic:

Hazen vs. Trenton – Noon, Dec. 29

Hazen’s played a solid schedule thus far with games against Bishop Ryan and Bowman County so the Bison are battle tested. Trenton is a little more of an unknown at this point but its clear that both teams have talent. Junior shooting guard Isaac Doll is the guy to watch for Hazen.

Four Winds/Minnewaukan vs. Dickinson Trinity – 1:30 p.m., Dec. 29

This one might be the game of the day as Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Dickinson Trinity can both make the case to be in the top three in Class B rankings right now. Four Winds has very good wins over Oak Grove, Grafton and Beulah while Dickinson Trinity beat Shiloh Christian to open the season. Trinity faces Thompson Friday in the Hoopster Classic, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of juice the Titans have left afterwards.

Beulah vs. St. John – 3 p.m., Dec. 29

Both of these teams have yet to gain a real footing on the season but given the mass amount of loss both teams are dealing with, it’s not a huge surprise. Both have the requisite talent to turn things around though and both have challenged themselves early in the season. This could be a big confidence-boost for the winner. The guard matchup between Trey Brandt (Beulah) and Zach Anderson/Bradley Defender (St. John) should be fun.

New Town vs. Langdon/Edmore/Munich – 4:30 p.m., Dec. 29

New Town looks like a potential contender out of Region 8 while L/E/M has been solid thus far while running out a terrific offense. New Town sophomore guard Jordan LeBeau could be on the best players in Class B in time while Langdon’s Alex Lowery is a matchup problem for a lot of teams.

Thompson vs. Bishop Ryan – 6 p.m., Dec. 29

Here’s a potential state-tournament showdown as Thompson and Bishop Ryan are both top-fiveish teams in Class B. It’s all about the guard duo of Ben Bohl and Mason Hedberg for Bishop Ryan while Thompson counters with perhaps the best big man tandem in the state in Hayden Overby and Chance Danner (both averaging double-doubles).

Northstar/Starkweather vs. Our Redeemer – 7:30 p.m., Dec. 29

Northstar has a senior-laden roster off to a good start this season while Our Redeemer is still trying to find its way with just one win through the first couple weeks.